23 April 2016

Airbus has installed in the MSN59, the 1st
A350-1000 prototype, the same Emergency escape hatch for test-crew that was installed in the MSN1, the first A350-900
prototype.

Source: Airbus

The main cargo door, manufactured in Korea
by KAI wil not be flying on the first set of test-flights of the MSN59. As it occurred
in the MSN1 first flight prototype.

Each test flight is operated by a crew of 2
pilots and 3 flight engineers, who monitor the stream of data flowing from a
multitude of sensors into a bank of computers installed in the middle of the
cabin

Source: Airbus

On
all seats is a parachute. If
things should go terribly awry and the crew needs to evacuate, a bright-orange
railing leads them from the cockpit door to a hatch in the floor above the
forward cargo door.

By pulling a lever, the crew can trigger a set of explosive charges that will blow a hole in the right side of the fuselage. They can then leap down a slide, through the hole, and into the air.

18 April 2016

Airbus has
modified the thrust-reverser actuation system of production A350-900s after a
failure of a locking mechanism on an in-service aircraft.

The locking
actuator was removed from the jet after several failure messages, and
investigators found that it failed a primary lock integrity test, said the
European Aviation Safety Agency.

EASA stated
that the component can be affected by internal contamination from carbon dust,
and that this can affect the retention capability of the actuator.

Source: Airbus

EASA said 2
out of 3 retention mechanisms of the thrust reversers can potentially be
affected by the problem, which would leave only the 3rd system – a lock
employing a different design – for retention.

Airbus has
introduced a new thrust-reverser actuation system standard into A350
production, after Goodrichcorrected the problem.

EASA has
ordered in-service A350s to be modified to the same standard, within 750 cycles
since first flight.

Goodrich
Aerospace Europe (part of UTC Aerospace Systems' Aerostructures) is producing
the thrust reversers in a new dedicated building at its Toulouse site, with a 50.000-square-foot thrust
reverser robotic production area with a moving assembly line.

Goodrich
is providing all three members of the A350 XWB family's nacelle and thrust
reverser system, wheels and carbon brakes, air data system and ice detection
system, external video system and cabin attendant seats.

Additionally,
for the new A350-1000, Goodrich is providing the main landing gear.

Based on the article “A350 thrust-reversers modified after
lock flaw” published in FlightGlobal.

03 April 2016

“You cannot expect to have no problems,” said
Didier Evrard, Airbus EVP for programs, who run the A350 program until the end
of 2014.

“But what is
important is that you take immediate action once something comes up. We have
innovated quite a bit in the way we work.”

Evrard believes
the goal of 98.5% dispatch reliability can be reached within 1-2 years.

Source: Airbus

A large
dedicated team inside Airbus is dealing with the A350 2 hours per day, and Didier
Evrard has instructed the team to immediately escalate any serious and new
issues to his management level to ensure things are properly addressed.

Airbus
detected 3 areas that have needed particular attention in the A350 operation.

First, the
system that has created the most logbook entries so far is the onboard network
that hosts all MRO applications.

According to Marc
Virilli (Senior Director - Customer Services at Airbus), some human-machine
interface improvements as well as software updates were needed.

“We have
issued an evolution of the system which has already been implemented on the
Qatar and Vietnam Airlines fleets, and we are seeing a decrease in the number
of reports,” he said.

The rerelease
has eliminated a number of software bugs that also affected communications
between the aircraft and the ground.

Second,
Airbus was forced to issue a number of service bulletins and to remove some
galley inserts, such as ovens or coffeemakers, because of leaks.

The leaks are
related to a supplier that Airbus declines to identify.

But Virilli
said that after corrective action was taken, the number of reports has come
down 50%.

And third,
the bleed system’s over heating detection has issued nuisance warnings that
have caused some operational disruption.

Airbus
retrofitted a sensor connection using gold-plated connectors, and the issue has
been eliminated.

Marc Virilli
said “a combination of several factors” was affecting Qatar’s operations; some
have improved while others are still being addressed, but in general, the overall
situation has stabilized.

Meanwhile,
Finnair has experienced “the expected amount of small technical issues that can
typically be addressed by resetting the system.” Rather than a clear pattern,
there have been “isolated things here and there”. However, Finnair has noticed
a slightly higher use of spare parts in the cabin.

Based on the article “A350 Dispatch Reliability By Daniel Omale” pubished in Jimi Disu´s blog.